Saint Gerard Majella, while still very small, had the happiness of playing with the Child Jesus, who, when taking leave, gave him a very white and tasty little loaf. From that tender age he behaved in church with such recollection that he was taken for an angel.
His truly angelic piety moved the hearts of all who saw him, and certainly even more the Heart of God.
Our Lord rewarded his tender devotion by appearing to him visibly during Holy Mass. His heart seemed entirely inflamed, and when, after the priest’s communion, the Lord disappeared, Gerald became sad and his eyes filled with tears.
From that time he felt a supernatural and irresistible attraction toward the church, toward the august sanctuary where the Eucharistic Jesus filled him with ineffable delights.
In the afternoon, wherever he might be, when he heard the bell calling for the visit to the Blessed Sacrament, he left his games and said to his companions:
— Come, let us go visit Jesus, who wished to make Himself a prisoner for our love.
And it was moving to see with what fervor and devotion the boy remained there kneeling, motionless and absorbed in his God.
He had an immense desire to receive Holy Communion; but, not having the required age, he was not permitted. God, however, wished to satisfy little Gerald’s ardent desire, and he received Communion miraculously from the hands of an angel.
At ten years of age he made his solemn First Communion with the ardor of a seraph; and from then on the Eucharist became the necessary bread of his soul. Nor did it take long before his confessor allowed him daily Communion.
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